Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Hey gang, David Newman here from Do It Marketing. Today's question, how to become a motivational speaker?

How to become a motivational speaker? Oh my gosh, it's as if you push the magic button and the suddenly, rainbows, unicorns, chicks, ducks and bunnies just pop out and boom, you're a motivational speaker. Of course it doesn't work that way. You need a business model, a service model and a revenue model. You need to do some thinking. You don't just go to Kinko's and print up some business cards and then set up a simple free website on Wix or Go Daddy, or some of these crazy platforms.

Why would you do that? Why would you do that? That is so crazy. It's like I'm going to run off and join the circus. So listen, couple of steps to get you pointed in the right direction. Number one. Business model. What is it you're building? Are you building a solo practice, are you building a company that's going to have big offices and a physical space, a training center, are you going to have other consultants go out under your name, under your banner, under your brand? You know when you look at these very successful, five, ten, 20 million dollar training companies, consulting firms, those didn't just pop by by accident, right? Someone planned for years that business model, that service model, and that revenue model.

But the first piece of this is, plan out the business model. Is it solo practice, is it partnership, is it a consortium, a confederation of trainers, is it going to involve licensing, is it going to involve subcontractors, so really think through. What's the empire look like, what does success look like from a business model standpoint.

Second question you have to ask yourself if you want to be a successful motivational speaker, have a successful motivational speaking driven business, is service model. So obviously, at some point, you want to speak, but even there, what kind of speaking? Key note, half day, full day, multi-day, retreats, seminars, public programs, in house training for companies. What are going to be the different modes and methods that you're going to deliver that speaking message, what formats, what depth, duration and detail and then plan out accordingly, how do you think those will be priced?

So now we move on to revenue model. So service model is what's on the menu, revenue model is what does it cost, how do you get paid, how does the math work. So what are you going to charge for a key note speech? What are going to charge for a half day or a full day workshop? What are you going to charge for a multi-day program? What are you going to charge for a multi-day CEO retreat or a board retreat or an in house training session. Or a strategic work session or a intensive boot camp experience? So, figure out what you need to charge, figure out how busy you want to be and how much money you want to make, put that math together, it's very simple, it's price times quantity equals total. Let me repeat that for the slow kids watching this, price times quantity equals total. That's my phone ringing right now with complaints about that slow kids comment.

Anyway, think about these three things and your foundational success to start a motivational speaking driven business is going to go way, way up. So listen, I have a lot more than four minutes of information to share with you. There's some web training available to you that is gonna help you tremendously dial in your service model, business model, revenue model, answer a whole bunch of other questions about getting started, getting ahead, staying ahead, as a motivational speaking driven entrepreneur. It's doitmarketing.com/webinar. Pop over there right now, it's doitmarketing.com/webinar. There should be a link somewhere here, in this video, below this video, in the transcript of this video, somewhere that will get you in to doitmarketing.com/webinar. I will see you on the other side. Thanks for watching.

This whiteboard was FULL - and I mean jam-packed - with ideas, notes, bullets, to-dos, action items, brainstorms, and some jottings about the "next big thing" for our professional speaking and inbound marketing firm.

Perhaps you have a similar whiteboard in your office. Or a wall filled with post-it notes. Or plaques and awards on your bookcase. Or other visual reminders of where your company has been and all that you have accomplished.

Tremendously exciting. Truly.

The only problem: it was tremendously exciting in your past. With every day, every week, every month - hell, every hour - that you do not ACT on those ideas, they start to turn on you.

They are no longer motivators - they are pacifiers that remind you how great you WERE. What you imagined would BE. And what - for better or worse - didn't quite turn out the way you envisioned last week, last month or last year.

In my case, my office whiteboard was holding onto ideas and initiatives from 6 months ago.Yikes! Totally useless to me today. EXCEPT it made me feel good about how gosh darn smart I am and what big plans I have/had (NOT!)

When Steve Jobs came back as interim CEO of Apple in 1997, he had every award, plaque, and completed project plan removed from the walls and hallways of Apple. He did not want any visual reminders of the past. All he wanted his teams to see was their future.

NEW plans, CURRENT prototypes, and UPCOMING projects were all over Apple's hallways, offices, and conference rooms. Everything was future-focused and kept rigorously up to date.

What do you need to erase from your whiteboard? Which awards should you put away? Which of your accolades are keeping you stuck in the past?

Put that stuff away.

Look to your CURRENT future. In the words of Steve Jobs - it will help you "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." And it will help you achieve your NEXT level of "insanely great."

Want to apply for your Speaker Strategy Call to see how you can IMPLEMENT some of these concepts right away? Apply for your call here.

3 Reasons LinkedIn Beats Email

1. Red Velvet Rope - This is a term popularized in the marketing arena by Michael Port. It means there's an exclusive, members-only feel to your marketing. It's not for everyone - and not everyone qualifies. You need to be "in the club." When you reach out to a fellow Group member on LinkedIn, you both are in the club and there's a strong element of peer-to-peer belonging that encourages community, communication, and responsiveness. Can't say that about a cold call or a plain old email!

2. Priority Seal - Most executives and business owners feel overwhelmed by email. When they're not tackling the email monster (click here if you'd like to master your email!), they are wall-to-wall with meetings, phone calls, and their daily dose of dealing with crises. LinkedIn messages DO trigger an email notification but you have the choice of responding via email or via LinkedIn -- and LinkedIn messages (for most of us) are few and far between so they give the impression of being more important, more filtered, and more personally relevant. Think of it as a FedEx envelope arriving in your daily mail. Sure, you can ignore it - you can toss it - you might not get to it for a few days. But chances are greater that you will because of curiosity - a basic trait of human nature.

3. More Attractive Return Address Envelope - LinkedIn messages tend to be shorter than emails - and a shorter note merits a shorter response. You've just given your prospects, clients, and connections a huge "out" because they do NOT need - and probably would not even consider - sending you a long, involved response. If you send a short, succinct note to reconnect with a past client - they'll respond with a short, succinct note and you'll probably use LinkedIn to make plans to connect in a longer format offline (phone call, lunch, coffee, in-person meeting). Yours will be a fast, easy and appealing note to respond to - so your chances of getting a prompt response just went up considerably!

LinkedIn in Action and Results

I have been using LinkedIn to reconnect with old contacts and to connect with anyone signing up for my newsletter. I do this with the LinkedIn for Outlook utility showing if anyone sending me an email (or completing any website form that is emailed to me) has a LinkedIn account. As my connection numbers build, more website visitors, book readers, and subscribers are now asking to connect with me. We’ve also done a few email blasts to our database asking for connections to those who have LinkedIn accounts. Over the last two years we can directly trace a few hundred thousand dollars in speaking/workshop or long term/ongoing consulting fees that started with these (re)connections.

3 LinkedIn Secrets from Jim's Success:

1. As my friend and Speaker Hall of Fame member Dr. Alan Zimmerman likes to say, "your business comes from your business." (He's a guy who enjoys a 92% repeat and referral rate from his client base so he's walking that talk.) Note that Jim Clemmer is also generating his success not ONLY from new connections - but from RE-connections. Try it for yourself and see what conversations you can generate with the folks who already know you, love you, and have given you money in the past.

2. You gotta ask for the connection. Note that Jim's strategy also involved email blasts to his list proactively asking them to connect on LinkedIn. And not just once - but several times over the past 2 years. Remember to make your social media scripts appealing, relevant, and NOT focused on you - but focused on the value you'd like to deliver to your connections.

3. It takes time and there are both direct and indirect benefits. Notice that Jim said, "over the last two years" - not the last 2 weeks or 2 months. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Notice also that he said he could DIRECTLY trace several hundred thousand dollars of new business. That's great - and in addition, Jim has likely generated that much money or more INDIRECTLY, meaning that people didn't hire him FROM LinkedIn but BECAUSE they saw something he contributed, received a connection update, or otherwise "bumped into" Jim's name, content, ideas, website, blog or network - and were prompted to engage with him.

As a marketing coach, I see a lot of misguided people in the marketplace but this one has to be in my Top 3 of all time...

Yup, it's been a while but here's the latest winner in the now infamous Marketing Jackass Awards...

Somebody was crazy enough to post this egomaniacal rant on Facebook.

She was complaining that (yet AGAIN) she was not hired by a prospect after slathering her self-centered egotistical slime all over them.

Shocking, right?

Take a look - and for a fun exercise, COUNT the number of times she uses the words, "I, me, and my."

Bonus question: If you were an executive on the receiving end of her pitch as she describes it, would YOU hire her? Why or why not?

Leave a comment below and let's discuss.

Here it is, straight from the source:

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IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!! I had a meeting with an organization leader. After going through what I have accomplished, what I am great at fulfilling to help others excel, and the list of services and products I have created WITH MY TEAM OF EXPERTS, I was indirectly asked to *downplay* my genius because many people will feel uncomfortable and jealous. Really? I am being asked to be small, to suppress my God given gifts to help others because I have to protect the ego of people who are less capable? How is that being of service to people in need? How is that being authentic, and being true to who we are, our convictions and our mission in life?

I am deeply grateful to God for blessing me with many talents and abilities. I have learned many valuable lessons in life through my own experiences, and through the wisdom of mentors who I chose to help me become the best I can be to fulfill my big mission in life. I make no excuses for the magnificent person I have become because of my experiences and choices. Not everyone will support my big mission in life, and it is ok. I stand true to my values, and my higher mission to be the voice of Hope, Courage, Inspiration, Transformation and Resilience. People need me to lead them from their places of darkness into light, and help them stand confidently in their own magnificence. People need me to find the joy, peace, healing and positive changes in their lives. It will be a disservice for me to not share all the fantastic things I can help them with, because others will feel insecure.

Not everyone will get me. And no one can stop me. I WILL BE OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY FOR THE HIGHER GOOD, IN MY OWN AUTHENTIC AND SPECTACULAR WAY. IF OTHERS ARE BLINDED BY MY LIGHT, THEY NEED TO WEAR SUNGLASSES, or stay in the shade, and not block the sun from shining on others in need of light.

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Here's a bonus graphic reminder for you. If you agree, please grab this image and share it with your social media networks:

Download this FREE Do It! Marketing Manifesto, where you'll discover the four levels of marketing and how to use each.

Shawn and I share some rock-solid ideas to help you grow your speaking business, approach speakers bureaus in the right way at the right time and for the right reasons, separate your speaking business from the rest of the pack, and leverage your long-term value to clients way beyond your speech.

Shawn helps speakers have more fun, reach more people and make more money.

The book takes a fundamental principle from improv comedy - saying "yes, and" instead of "yes, but" - and shows you how that one simple idea can help you improve your career, your business, your relationships, and your life.

As a special promotion, if you buy the book today, February 28th, you'll get access to over $200 in free gifts, including PDF versions of two of Avish's other books and over 8 hours of MP3 recordings of some of Avish's most popular audio programs. That's over $200 in gifts in return for buying a $12.95 book.

First I have to tell you - I'm a business book junkie. I read 'em all. Big ones, little ones, famous ones, and hidden gems. All topics including sales, marketing, leadership, strategy, the how-to, the what-to, and the why-to kind.

And this books stands out.

Plain and simple, Avish Parashar packages essential wisdom, insights, and practical advice into a small concentrated form factor.

But don't be fooled - this is life-changing stuff.

One small turn in what you think and what you say CAN and WILL make a huge impact. Example after example pours out of this book and will soon spark ideas and memories in your own mind of times you took charge and created success - and other times when you chose the "Yes but" path and created your own obstacles, limits, and barriers.

Whether you are a business owner, corporate executive, sales professional, association executive, or non-profit leader, this book is for YOU. Filled with immediately actionable insights and concrete take-aways, this little book may trigger the biggest and best changes your team, your organization, and your results will ever experience.

Tell you what - STOP reading Amazon reviews of this great little book, say "YES AND I'll buy it right now." In fact, you may want to buy three - one for yourself, one for your boss, and one for the significant other in your life. Yes (and) the ideas in this book work as powerfully at home as they do at work!!

Here are some words and phrases that, according to advertisinggreat Ted Nicholas, work especially well in headlines:

Announcing ...

Secrets of ...

Facts you ...

Advice to ...

Protect ...

Do you ...

Yes ...

Love ...

Hate ...

How much ...

How would you ...

Only ...

Free ...

You ...

How to ...

New ...

Now ...

Amazing ...

Breakthroughs ...

At last ...

Life ...

Discover ...

Bargains ...

Sale ...

Free...

Source: "Success in the Sun," Ted Nicholas seminar, Tampa, FL.

p.s. Bob and I are two of the seven experts in the Speaking Expert Teleseminar Series that just launched. You still have time to catch 6 of the 7 sessions LIVE. The best part? There are both PAID and FREE options so you get to choose which one works best for you. Hope you'll join us for the series. My session is on Feb. 14 ('cuz you GOTTA LOVE to speak!!)

Marketing Mix: Book Review of "PAID TO SPEAK" published by the National Speakers Association

PAID TO SPEAK is a virtual MBA in the business of speaking. From marketing to positioning to product development to platform skills, it's ALL in here. Well-organized, tightly edited, and with a logical flow from one part of the business to another, PAID TO SPEAK is also unique in that it tells it like it is. No sugar-coating. And no trying to fleece opportunity-seekers into believing the speaking business is a fast, easy, and glamorous way to make money. [It is NONE of the three!]

Speaking professionally today is about thought-leadership, adding value to corporate, association, and entrepreneurial sectors, and understanding all the different ways that audiences and buyers want to access, use, and deploy your expertise. The book spans a wide range of business models, distribution methods, and revenue models. As it should - to reflect the current reality of many successful speakers (very few of whom have business models that look anything alike!)

The key value in buying a copy of PAID TO SPEAK, dog-earing it, highlighting it, and taking notes in the margins... is that you will emerge from the experience with a wealth of information, some clear decisions to make, and a game plan to put it all together in a style and manner that suits your personality, your strengths, and your preferences. This is no "one size fits all" template for "THE" way to become successful. There are MANY paths up the mountain - and PAID TO SPEAK should be your personal handbook, guide, and reference to get you there miles ahead of the competition!

If you have a meeting planner in your circle of friends, you're just three degrees from anyone in the world. They know people who know people and they take great delight in helping others make meaningful connections.

Firing someone is often a distasteful, sometimes painful, act. It is the end of something. Hiring someone is usually full of hope and expectation. It can be exciting. It is the beginning of something.

Yet you don’t learn much when you hire someone. It often turns out to be not all you had hoped.

You could learn a great deal about yourself and about others from the process of firing someone, however.

If you can do a better job of firing, you could do a better job of hiring. The most direct way of learning how to do a better job of hiring lies in what you can learn from the process of firing.

Here’s why:

Hope and wishful thinking clouds your perspectives when you are hiring someone. But when you fire someone, you are challenged to understand why.

Firing can clear the lenses. It can be – ought to be – a very rational process. If you do it right, you are dealing with bedrock criteria, not wishful thinking.

If you can figure out why and how and when to fire someone, it will clarify why you went wrong in the first place.

If you did a perfect job of hiring people, you would have a perfect understanding of how to fire people. But most organizations haven’t done a better job of hiring people in spite of the tsunami of advice about how to do it.

You have to come at it the other way around. There is no reliable recipe for doing a perfect job of hiring. You have to learn from your failures – as all leaders have had to do.

It is figuring out who needs to be fired andwhy that provides the clarity needed to get better and better at hiring.

There are always the conventional reasons for firing someone: poor performance, redundancy, obsolescence, RIF, attitude, and myriad others. There are reasons. And then there are the real reasons.

It is these real reasons the chief executive needs to uncover. You have to plow through the verbiage and your own thinking to arrive at the real reasons. Was it a poor hire? Was it just a poor “fit”? Was it the culture of the organization that was at fault? Was it the attitude of the person’s peers? Was it the person’s boss? Could it even be you?

Done well, this kind of forensic exploration begins to illuminate better hiring practices by starting with reality rather than the jargon of the day.

To the person targeted for being fired, there is often no correlation between the reasons offered and that person’s assessment of his or her own performance. Big clue.

Here is the crunch issue:

The person being fired was probably not told at the time of hiring the specific reasons that might lead to dismissal.

Three mistakes were likely made:

The person was probably provided with a list of activities to be performed. That’s the way conventional “job descriptions” are constructed. There may have been some past experience or credentials thrown in for the company to hedge its bets.

It was likely nothing was said about what was to be accomplished. You can’t measure activities objectively. But you can measure accomplishments.

The person was most likely hired for a “job.” He or she was not hired to a role in the organization’s future. It is the future that really matters, not the past. Past performance does not predict well to future performance.

Competence is difficult to measure. So most organizations measure what’s easy to measure – the financials. But, to use a provocative metaphor:

Financial performance can only be measured in the wake of the ship. It is where the ship is headed that matters most. And then it is how it is powered and steered to get there.

It is full competence in every role in the organization that seals its fate. If you hire for full competence to carry forward in a well-specified role, you won’t have to fire for incompetence.

A key ingredient of competence is being in the “learning mode.” The best evidence for being in the “learning mode” is that the person performs his or her role better today than they did yesterday. You fire for lack of that. Maybe you should hire for the presence of that.

And, if it isn’t necessary for the person to perform his or her role better, poor performance may not be the person’s fault. It may be your fault for not making continuous improvement in every role necessary.

What is necessary will likely happen. What is not necessary may not happen.

Every organization, like every person, arrives at a statusquo – ways of doing things that take precedence over doing them right. Percy Barnevik of ABB fame considered the statusquo to be the enemy. His suggestion? Kill it.

There are people who have one year’s experience repeated 20 times. They become deadwood. How frequently do you clear the deadwood? Ranchers cull their herdsat least annually, in order to get better breeding.

Jack Welch eliminated the bottom 10% of performers annually. That takes the uncertainty and pain out of firing.

Outstanding performers are disruptive of the status quo. They are therefore more likely than mediocre performers to get the axe. If the culture of your organization is a safe haven for mediocrity, you are not doing a good job of firing.

And if you aren’t, you can’t do a good job of hiring.

One of the hidden reasons for firing people is that they don’t seem able to learn from experience. They never seem to get consistently better at what they do. Lesson? Make that explicit.

The best CEOs are not in their role to do the job. They are there to learnhow to perform their role better today than they did yesterday. They expect the same of others.

If that’s not why you are there, you should be fired. You are, after all, the exemplar.

The best time to fire someone is the day before you hire them. If you can do that, you will be doing a far, far better job of hiring.

The bonus is that firing the wrong people for all the right reasons makes room for hiring more of the right people for the right reasons. But you have to know clearly what those are.

This is why knowing the real reasons for firing people will help you to make better and better judgments about hiring. In other words, the best way to get better at hiring is to get better at firing.

For what good reasons would you fire yourself? If you really figure that out, you will do a far better job of hiring – including casting yourself in the right role.

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Lee Thayer has been a CEO coach and consultant for 45+ years and is known worldwide for his work “in the trenches” with executives to create high-performance organizations. Dr.Thayer has also held distinguished professorships in many of the major universities worldwide.His recent, acclaimed books include: Leadership: Thinking, Being, Doing; The Good Leader; Leaders and Leadership; Leadership Virtuosity; How Leaders Think; Explaining Things and The Competent Organization.